Geneva Conventions
174 Articles

U.S. Has Legal and Moral Responsibility to Protect Civilians at Rukban in Syria
With the U.S. in control of the at-Tanf region of Syria, both international humanitarian law and basic morality dictate that the U.S. ensure vital supplies reach the civilians…

The U.S. Must Forcefully Oppose Blanket Amnesty for Civil War Atrocities in Guatemala
“All the people have disappeared.” So reads a declassified cable from the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, dated Dec. 28, 1982. The subject was an incident that occurred just…

Parsing Howard Nielson’s Sources: A Thesis Without Support
Image: Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) speaks with ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) before the start of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol…

Alseran v MOD and the Legal Risks in Treating All Captives as Prisoners of War
British and American troops with Iraqi captives in March 2003. (UK MOD) Last month, the English High Court delivered its judgment in favour of the claimants in Alseran and Others…

Judicial Nominee Howard C. Nielson’s Own Torture Memo
Image: Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) talk with each other during a Senate Judiciary…

A Careless Attack on the UN’s Commission of Inquiry on Syria
Over on Lawfare, Lt. Col. Shane Reeves and Lt. Col. Ward Narramore have published a critique of the latest report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the…

Trump’s “Safe Areas” in Syria — An Explainer on International Law
In an interview on Wednesday with ABC, President Donald Trump said he would “absolutely do safe zones in Syria.” The leaked draft of the Executive Order “Protecting the…
State Responsibility for Assisting Armed Groups: A Legal Risk Analysis
Last month, the US State Department’s Legal Adviser Brian Egan highlighted one of the most significant legal issues on the horizon: US and coalition forces’ handling of large…
Israel’s Settlement Regulation Bill Violates International Law
The proposed (and euphemistically titled) “Regulation Bill” is a bill pending before the Israeli Knesset which seeks to authorize the expropriation of private Palestinian property…
Israel’s Settlement Regulations Bill and International Law
[Editor’s Note: After reading Eugene Kontorovich’s post, be sure to read a response to his post by Yaël Ronen and Yuval Shany, “Israel’s Settlement Regulation…

The Oxford Guidance on the Law Relating to Humanitarian Relief Operations in Situations of Armed Conflict: An Introduction
[Just Security and EJIL Talk! are hosting an online forum on the Oxford Guidance on the Law Relating to Humanitarian Relief Operations in Situations of Armed Conflict, which…
Another Look at the New ICRC Survey: Glimmers of Hope?
During his campaign, Donald Trump publicly endorsed torture, indiscriminate bombing of populated areas, and killing civilians with familial ties to members of ISIS—all of which…